The Edit is a series of conversations to inspire and guide our AMLY community; we invite you to listen to conversations with some of our friends and ambassadors, their personal beauty experience alongside wellness and lifestyle advice. These discussions aim to encourage and help us to discover ways to help improve our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing.

There was once a time when meditation was seen as being a somewhat eccentric practice, but as it’s become more sacred over the years, our conversation with Claire today, reminds us how integral that feeling of being ‘connected’ truly is.

Having been introduced to meditation at the age of 11, Claire has studied under her ‘Satguru’ in India, where she was able to tap into a vision that opened up the world beyond our limited views. 

Over what we consider to be one of the most eye-opening conversations we’ve had to date, Claire took Kerry and Lisa on a journey of insight, peace and serenity.

AMLY: What does a ‘usual’ day look like?

Claire: Waking up early, enjoying the ritual of making and drinking my first cup of chai, meditating, facilitating (mostly online) satsang and meditation meetings, doing yoga, walking and reading or listening to audiobooks or inspiring discourses – mostly on the principles of non-duality.

As much as I appreciate being in good company I also love to be alone in complete silence. There is no difference between my work and creative outlets, as meditation and self awareness remain central to every aspect of my life.

AMLY: What advice would you give to someone who has never practiced, but is wanting to start with meditation?

Claire: To recognise that the calling to meditate is coming from a deep inner awareness that there is something more to experience from life. In terms of how exactly to meditate, there are many mantras and techniques now readily available, but I would suggest putting a prayer out to the universe that a source of enlightened information will come to you. That way the practice can be approached with as much wisdom and as few misconceptions as possible.

To think of meditation as only a practice we ‘do’ is very limiting. It is in fact the natural state of being: that which was there before we were born; that which remains the same throughout the duration of our ever-changing lives; and that which goes nowhere when the body is no more. The more one comes to understand this directly without the filter of an individual, the more the reality of meditation can be understood.

AMLY: Could you take us through your meditation practice? 

Claire: Meditation has never failed to make sense to me. Throughout my life I have had countless opportunities to both witness and experience directly its multifaceted and transformative power. 

I was first introduced at the age of 6 and was formally initiated at the age of 11. 

I spent my twenties meditating 8 hours a day and saw in my thirties how it embraced me like a protective fire of knowledge through a lot of emotional turmoil. 

I was blown away in my forties when it came like an immortal angel carrying me fearlessly through life-threatening health situations. 

I witnessed in my early fifties how by grace, it seemed to catapult me on an infinite beam of light to the other side, of what I can only describe as the center of the seed of all the grief I had ever experienced.

Over the years I have used various techniques from mantra and mala to breath work. How I practice meditation now is to simply approach it with no plan. I just sit, close my eyes, and let the awareness of ‘being aware’ take care of the rest. 

Mantra or any other technique may or may not arise from the silence. Either way it’s fine. The key is to stay with the awareness and to observe that the nature of awareness has no beginning, middle or end. It can therefore never become lost. For awareness there is no time, no location and no opposition, just a divine and eternal ever-present indifference. It may appear as if the practice of meditation ends when the eyes open and movement begins, but in truth, meditation and awareness remain the same whether the eyes are closed or open.

AMLY: Do you think meditation can help us grow as a person and what do you feel it brings to our lives?

Claire: Absolutely! Meditation helps us grow out of our own limitations; feeling small and feeling separated, which can only ever bring us pain. Meditation moves us towards a much

greater awareness of who we really are.

As a practice, it enables the practitioner to directly experience a total cessation of all thoughts whatever their nature. Everything subsides and we are able to de-identify with the meaning of our thinking. It also releases us from the endlessly painful cycle of taking things personally when in fact they are not.

So many of the situations we pass through in our lives are not within our ability to control, but what is within our control is how we respond. If we are able to master the art of withdrawing our energy from any narrative that doesn’t serve us, we make ourselves available to an infinite resource of intelligence that places us in a position of strength and neutrality. 

As we spend more time meditating we see that our entire perception of life shifts from identifying with the fast-paced and ever changing world, to becoming aware of that which is unchanging. Meditation is like the bridge between the outer and inner world because it allows one to directly perceive and understand that which the mind and intellect can’t reach. 

AMLY: What does wellbeing mean to you and how do you incorporate it into your daily life?

Claire: Aside from how I spend my time and how I take care of myself physically, the essence of wellbeing to me has to be the awareness that no matter what happens to my body, nothing wrong can ever happen. This is incorporated into my life by my surrendering to it, having faith in it and witnessing again and again how trusting in ‘being’ has never failed me. Rather, it releases me from fear, need and doubt and instead fills me with love. Therefore in truth the being will always be well.

AMLY: What is your favourite book, music and food that feeds your soul?

Claire: My favourite book is ‘Upanishads’, I love classical Indian music and of course, Indian vegetarian food is delicious.

AMLY: What are your favourite AMLY products and how do you incorporate them into your daily rituals?

Claire: Just as I appreciate high quality foods filled with natural, nourishing, authentic goodness for the body, mind and spirit, so too do I appreciate the same for the skin. AMLY is exactly that. Each product has its own unique quality and I could easily call all of them my ‘favourite’. At the moment my skincare routine includes cleansing with Deep Reveal, spritzing with Radiance Boost and then putting a few drops of Day Light Face Oil onto my skin to truly brighten my complexion while staying nourished throughout the day.